Hands of the Ripper

Synopsis

The infant daughter of Jack the Ripper is witness to the brutal murder of her mother by her father. Fifteen years later she is a troubled young woman who is seemingly possessed by the spirit of her father. While in a trance she continues his murderous killing spree but has no recollection of the events afterwards. A sympathetic psychiatrist takes her in and is convinced he can cure her condition. Soon, however, he regrets his decision.

The infant daughter of Jack the Ripper is witness to the brutal murder of her mother by her father. Fifteen years later she is a troubled young woman who is seemingly possessed by the spirit of her father. While in a trance she continues his murderous killing spree but has no recollection of the events afterwards. A sympathetic psychiatrist takes her in and is convinced he can cure her condition. Soon, however, he regrets his decision.

Cast

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Bensch 8 / 10

Underrated Hammer Gem

I am an enthusiastic fan of the Hammer Studios, and my admiration for
this brilliant Production Company gets greater with each film I see.
The Hammer Studios are most famous for their films made in the late 50s
and 60s, most prominently for the (awesome) "Dracula" and
"Frankenstein" series. As far as I am considered, however, some of
Hammer's films from the early 70s are just as brilliant as their older
successes. One of their greatest and my personal favorite of their
films, the brilliant "Vampire Circus" was made in 1972, for example,
and the early 70s also brought a variety of other classics, such as "Dr
Jekyll & Sister Hyde" or "Scars Of Dracula", which is easily the
nastiest entry to Hammer's Dracula series. "Hands Of The Ripper" of
1971 is yet another great Hammer production that is immensely
atmospheric, genuinely creepy, well-acted and stunningly suspenseful,
and an absolute must-see for every Horror-fan.

As a toddler, little Anna has to witness the murder of her mother by
her own father - none other than the notorious serial killer Jack the
Ripper himself. At the age of seventeen, Anna (Angharad Rees) lives at
the house of an elderly lady, a phony medium who is perfectly willing
to leave her 'granddaughter' to rich 'gentlemen' for money. After this
'grandmother' is brutally murdered, the rich doctor John Pritchard
(Eric Porter), a humanist and follower of Siegmund Freud, decides to
take custody of poor Anna, both out of sympathy and for research
reasons...

"Hands Of The Ripper" is a vastly underrated Hammer gem that is
ingenious in many aspects. The film is immensely creepy and scary, with
a suspense level that is higher than in most Hammer flicks, and the
murders are brutal and very bloody. The atmosphere is eerie and tense
and, as usual for Hammer, the film is shot in great Gothic locations.
The performances are great. Eric Porter delivers an excellent
performance as Dr. Pritchard, and Angharad Rees deserves special praise
for her outstanding performance in the role of Anna. All said, this is
a shamefully underrated film. Creepy, stylish, excellently acted and
stunningly suspenseful from the beginning to the end "Hands Of The
Ripper" is a great gem from Hammer that no lover of Horror can afford
to miss!

Reviewed by Snake-666 7 / 10

Underrated Hammer film.

While just a young child, Anna (Angharad Rees) witnesses the brutal murder
of her mother by father ‘Jack the Ripper'. Fifteen years later she begins to
enter trances and appears to be possessed by the Ripper himself. A friendly
psychiatrist, Dr. Pritchard (Eric Porter), unaware of her past and believing
her problems to be purely in the mind takes Anna in while he attempts to
cure her. However, he soon regrets his decision.

‘Hands of the Ripper' is a rather underrated and enjoyable Hammer film. The
film is slow, methodical and story based which may not appeal to those who
like lots of `action' in their flicks, but anyone who likes classic horror
wonderfully entwined with a near-gripping thriller should find something
enjoyable in ‘Hands of the Ripper'. Director Peter Sasdy does well in
building the tension and ensuring that the audience remains enthralled
throughout the slower paced thriller aspects. Peter Sasdy does his best in
making the most of the screenplay and adds some wonderful touches to the
visuals of the film which really stand out and help to make the movie what
it is. The sporadic flashback sequences may not be entirely original in
horror but few are quite as effective. Some beautiful and often despairingly
solemn musical arrangements accompany the film and induce the necessary mood
in the viewer in order to fully appreciate this interesting piece of
cinema.

The film is made all that better by some great performances from Eric
Porter, Angharad Rees and Derek Godfrey in the short role of Dysart.
Unfortunately, while one expects a certain degree of camp from a hammer
movie, there did seem to be a slight overabundance of camp or hammy
performances from some of the cast. However, one can take solace in knowing
that the majority of these moments were towards the beginning of the film.
Sadly, the poor performances were not the only thing that damaged this
movie. There was an occasional lack in useful dialogue which lead to some of
the scenes seeming distracted or unbelievable. This was accompanied by a
couple of scenes which seemed bizarre and incoherent in their reasoning of
the characters actions.

Nevertheless, the film manages to entertain and should hold the interest of
fans of other Hammer films. Compared to modern day horror movies, ‘Hands of
the Ripper' is a slow moving film that probably has little appeal for the
`nu-horror' fans but fans of classic horror should find the film to worthy
of at least one watch. The death scenes may be a little of an anti-climax
and there are some storyline problems, but ‘Hands of the Ripper' is an
entertaining movie that seems to be rather underrated. A bizarre yet
enjoyable mixture of horror, thriller, period drama and the work of Sigmund
Freud. My rating for ‘Hands of the Ripper' – 7/10.

Reviewed by Coventry 8 / 10

Jacqueline The Ripper!

Particularly all the sour people, who continuously claim that the
Hammer Studio ran out of inspiration and professionalism during the
early 1970's, should view "Hands of the Rippers", as this is still a
highly inventive and marvelously put together period piece. The basic
premise of this film is perhaps one of the most ingenious ones ever to
come out of the legendary British studios and director Peter Sasdy
presents the wholesome with great emphasis on both suspense AND gory
bloodshed! The French version's title (which I own) literally
translates as "The Ripper's Daughter" and this sums up the synopsis
much better than the official title ever could. During the opening
sequence, the notorious late 19th Century London serial killer Jack the
Ripper is identified by his own wife and their little girl – Anna –
painfully witness how her mother too gets slaughtered by her father the
monster. Years later, the shy and introvert girl is under the custody
of a phony spiritual medium/female pimp but her traumatic memories come
to the surface and force her hands to kill as well. Dr. John Pritchard,
an early follower of Sigmund Freud, takes Anna in his house and hopes
to cure her disturbed behavior by using therapy. However, since he
doesn't know what exactly inflicts Anna's murderous rage, several more
people (even inside Pritchard's household) are killed. "Hands of the
Ripper" lacks a bit of star-power (no Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee
in the cast), but the film is fast-paced and the originality of the
plot results in multiple tense sequences. Moreover, the setting of
London during the turn of the century is greatly captured, with people
slowly recovering from the actual Jack the Ripper murder case and
reverting too easily to fear & hysteria when it seems there's a new
maniac on the loose in the city. The murders are sensational and
really, really gruesome and they're extra shocking since nearly all
victims (all but one, actually) are sympathetic characters you didn't
wish this cruel fate for. This is also one of more intelligent Hammer
films, as the screenplay efficiently blends together historical horror
with accurate psychological theories and yet still manages to throw in
some pure camp and typical Hammer-brutality! The climax, set in the
St.Paul Cathedral's gallery of whispers, is breathtaking and almost
hauntingly poetic. Truly one of Hammer's most underrated and sadly
forgotten horror-highlights.